These are both on my short list of amps I would like to try out.  From (a lot of) videos I have listened to though, as wells as aesthetics, size, and specs in general, I feel like the Laney LF60-112 is the clear winner.  Such a rocking amp!

They will operate like the datasheet says within their specified voltage range.  That said, the higher the voltage input, the higher the voltage swing on the output is possible.  If you are looking for clean amplification you also need higher voltage to keep the headroom.  IE - if you have 2v into the circuit with a gain of 10x, it will try to output 20v. If you are only supplying it +/- 5v it is going to clip like crazy.  Depending on the sound you are going for, maybe that is a good thing, maybe not.

Quote from: Loudthud on November 23, 2024, 12:08:52 PMWhat a poor design. No gain from Q1. Q1 is a switching FET not intended for Audio. High Impedance tone stack more appropriate for a tube amp. Low input impedance inverting opamp stage loads the tone stack too much. Power amp is OK but 100K input is higher than recommended for that chip.

Looks like it was hacked together by some internet hack without a clue.

I agree.  This guy has TONS of electronics kits for sale, all of similar quality.  https://vakits.com/

Please share some detailed pictures of the inside of the amplifier and we may be able to help you trace the circuit and figure it out.

My Dean Markley does this.  I added a switch next to the power switch.  It connects/disconnects the speaker output.  I turn the amp on, then turn on the speaker connection - no noise.  Turning off is the reverse (although it's fairly quiet on turn off anyway).

I had thought about putting in a time delay relay type circuit, but it was more complex than I wanted to do and a second switch was cheap, easy, and reliable.

Quote from: saturated on November 08, 2024, 06:53:36 AMSo the morning after...I'm thinking that's not a good idea to run the primary through a breadboard

 

So now will be looking for a safe way to connect power cord from variac to primaries.

 

Thank you!  Never run primary through breadboard, or even PCB ideally.

I wouldn't normally recommend UT Source, but in this case for the money I would try them out.

https://www.utsource.net/itm/p/1839737.html?srsltid=AfmBOorgbD-WK-__is7r9wtoO5nTRJq0o7_X9B2neeyT3ZtJHz5dYUhk

How much of, if any, are you saving of the electronics on the old amp?  If using it's power supply, we will need to know what it puts out for voltage(s) as well as the capacity of the supply (maximum amps).

This summer Laney released the Lionheart Foundry series.  A trio of 60w amps.  The LF60-112, LFSUPER60-112, and LFSUPER60-212.  All three sound great in the video clips I have listened to, and while I tend to shy away from the term "tube sound", I do agree that these sound pretty fantastic.

From Guitar World: "The LF60-112 ($429/£279) is the most affordable of the trio, offering the core spec for minimum outlay. Next up is the LFSUPER60-112 ($539/£349), which adds tremolo and chorus effects, with controls for Rate and Depth. Most intriguing, however, is the LFSUPER60-212 ($699/£429) – a vertical 2x12 combo."

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/laney-lionheart-foundry

Quote from: phatt on September 11, 2024, 11:08:52 PMThanks Joe,
Yeah, If I didn't already have a sound/tone pedal board that I'm quite happy with then I would certainly check this out.

Using Analog circuitry for cab sims and amp parts is likely part of the reason it sounds good. Full bore dirt is a bit weak in the low freq but hard to judge when it's recorded on a phone.
Reverb sounds ok.

Certainly far more usable than a lot of other pedals. (what happened to the thumbs up emoji??)  

The one sound a lot of these fancy pedals can't seem to crack is that magic sweet Santana lead tone, which delivers a huge cut through without the brittle irritating top end fizz. I'm yet to hear that done.
Phil.

I totally agree.  Also I fixed the emojis   

Blackstar's Debut lineup has been quite impressive, and their new little amplifier is no exception.  The Debut 30E sports a 10 inch speaker and 30 watts of power.  Small enough to practice at home, large enough to practice with the band.  The official demo shows plenty of beautiful cleans, old school overdrive, punk rock distortion, and even some fairly thrashy tones.


MSRP is $209 USD

https://www.musicradar.com/news/blackstar-launches-the-tape-echo-equipped-debut-30e-practice-amp

Last month Quilter released the DirectAmp.  This is a new take on their existing SuperBlock amps, this time incorporating Fender, Vox, and Marshall sounds into one box - but not including a power amp, this is a preamp only.  The video linked in this review does show some decent tones, but I'm not sold yet and really want to get my hands on it myself.  Take a look yourself, what do you think?

MSRP is $399 USD and has stereo XLR output, headphone output, effects channel, and bluetooth input.

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/quilter-direct-amp

Ironic timing, but I'm actually playing with an attenuator for my K-20X.  I could have altered the circuit (more) but decided to just try an attenuator.  In my case I am using a 25ohm resistor in series with the positive lead and an 11ohm resistor in parallel with the speaker.  Since I have a 4ohm speaker, this will have the amp seeing 8ohms.  Overall output will be dropped to about 0.6w rather than the full 20w.  Switching will be done by an on/on spdt switch.  I have the parts, once I get around to actually doing it, I'll be sure to update my K-20X thread.

The K-20X is bothersome in that I need to use it on volume 2-3 at most and it's very particular about where I set it.  This should allow me to use around 5 on the volume at home and be more finite with adjustment.  Again, I could have done this on the preamp side, but this was easier for me and lets me have a feature currently seen on the "big boy" new amps :-)

Blackstar has decided to bring the volume up and release 100w versions of the Debut 50R.  That's right, not one but two versions.  The Debut 100R comes in 1x12 and 2x12 configurations.  Honestly, the 100R 1x12 is basically identical to the 50R except it has double the wattage.  This isn't really that helpful though as to get twice as loud requires 10x the wattage.  Bringing the power up to 100w really only adds about 3db of volume overall.  If you want this amp in a 1x12, just buy the 50R and save $100.

The big story here is the 2x12.  If you have been itching for that huge 2x12 sound, you can finally have it!  The bigger story, it's only an additional $20 over the 1x12 variant!

Sweetwater is currently selling the 1x12 100R for $379 USD and the 2x12 100R for $399 USD.  For reference, the 50R 1x12 is currently selling for $279 USD.

https://www.gearnews.com/blackstar-debut-100r-perfect-balance-for-pedals/

Laney is claiming that the new Lionheart and Ironheart Loudpedals provide 60 watts of power in a solid state pedalboard amp platform.  This certainly isn't a new concept as similar ideas have been done multiple times by many companies.  That said, this one sounds legit and I love the layout of the controls.  I also really appreciate that they include a reverb built in as this is super handy and cleans up the pedalboard nicely by not requiring an additional unit.

I do wonder how similar the circuitry is to the Laney LF60 combo amp that sells for $449 and has a 12" speaker.  The controls are almost identical and the sound seems pretty similar to me.

Pricing is listed as 399 GBP.  Sweetwater is currently selling them in the US for $499 USD.

https://www.musicradar.com/news/laney-martin-miller-tom-quayle-ironheart-lionheart-loudpedal-guitar-amplifiers